COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — A holiday lighting ceremony has turned into an annual Winterfest celebration at Bayliss Park in Council Bluffs.
The headliner of course was the lighting ceremony, which has been a staple since they started it in 2015. That ceremony has evolved into the festival that it is today.
While the Christmas lights were on last year, the event was canceled due to the pandemic. The city is excited to welcome everyone back this year to ring in the holiday season
“We’re just really excited to bring this event back. We’re excited to see all of our Council Bluffs families again; we’re excited to provide an opportunity for people to get together,” City of Council Bluffs Communication Officer Ashley Kruse said. “It’s sort of like we transform this area into a holiday movie set. It’s just neat to see everyone come together and be cheerful and excited for the holiday season.”
Since the city revamped its display in 2015, the park now has over 40,000 lights.
“2015 is when we started, and it was a simple countdown... that was when all the new lights were put on in the park. We generated a pretty big crowd just for that so we thought this is a good opportunity to turn it into something big,” Kruse said. “It’s become a holiday tradition for Council Bluffs families and surrounding areas too.”
Kruse says the growth of the festival isn’t possible without the organizations that collaborate with the city.
The lights will be up until 2021 comes to a close.
